South Carolina state Sen. Robert Ford in a file photo. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

(Newser)
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A black state senator in South Carolina has caused a ruckus with his argument against a law curbing illegal immigration. The US needs these immigrants, said Robert Ford, because they're willing to do hard work that ordinary Americans won't. Except he used far more colorful language: "I know brothers—and I'm talking about black guys—they are not going to do the dirty work at Boeing, to do that hauling and all that building, that dirty work," said Ford. The same held true for white people, or "blue-eyed brothers," he added, according to the Post and Courier.

He drew immediate condemnation, along these lines: "It's unfortunate that he would say something that negative about African-American males," said a local NAACP official. But Ford, who's resisting calls for an apology, said he was just using humor to make a point and that his critics should lighten up, notes AP. "I was talking about the building of America and how every generation of Americans did the hard work," he said. "Americans are not going to do real hard work. Everybody in America knows that." New York's Daily Intel blog thinks he's mostly right: "Ford definitely could have made his point more eloquently and without inflammatory racial language, but what he was trying to say doesn't seem that controversial." Click for more.

Illegal immigrants are a necesary problem, that's a fact, and white or black people don't work for those ridiculous wages it is as well. Since there is an unnemployment line that is going up, now we are turning our heads towards them. "Look, there goes an illegal alien with a job"...that worries the people who recently lost their job due to this crisis...not the people who is living out of welfare and foodstamps whitout worrying about getting ajob for a while. Now, that is a real problem. Why are the working people (us) have to provide food and paying bills for these lazy people? or "the most vulnerable" like our president call'em?

jaded

Feb 10, 2011 5:47 AM CST

how many times does our intellectually superior elite have to tell us that we are fat, stupid and lazy before we will finally bow downand allow them to do what is best for us.....americans are so stupid they don't even know how to be sheep

Kenja

Feb 10, 2011 5:40 AM CST

South Carolina...what can you say about it that hasn't been said already.